1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic filter and, more particularly, to a one-piece input end cap, such as a base or top of a filter; this one-piece input end cap having the ability to provide multiple porting options, mounting options, sensor placements, and filtration system configurations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Filters are generally comprised of a housing with one or more fluid inlets and one or more fluid outlets and a filter element contained in a housing. The housing is often formed of a canister and two end caps. Multiple filters have been combined in series and in parallel to form specific filtration systems. In certain applications, a single filter can also form the entire filtration system.
Filtration systems today are used in a variety of applications and most often are built or modified from the original configuration to accommodate the engineering limitations of each situation. Commonly, filters of such filtration systems have to be uniquely designed to satisfy design configurations, such as fluid inlet and outlet locations or sensor locations. Due to such demands, manufacturers are often required to design specific filters for each individual application. This, in turn, involves additional engineering steps, such as developing and manufacturing new castings for each new filter.
As can be seen, this method of having to produce a new filter to accommodate these different circumstances tends to be inefficient in time and cost. Not only would long periods of time have to be allocated for the design process of the filters and associated filtration systems, but also for the manufacturing process for the filters which, in turn, would quickly increase the cost of the product. Additionally, this process would prove to be inefficient due to low turnaround and inventory stagnation. This proves to be a cumbersome practice and can also be detrimental to a company's competitiveness and sustainability due to longer lead times and the inability to meet demand.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to create an efficient filter that allows for the necessary flexibility required in different applications and in design configurations, for example, the ability for the filters to be easily placed in series or parallel.